Making the affiliate Long Tail wag : part two

In part one we looked at how and why the engagement of an affiliate programme’s ‘Long Tail’ is pertinent to advertisers today.
This second part will look at specific techniques and ‘quick wins’ which have proven successful for other advertisers.
Companies boosting digital marketing budgets - new report
Companies are investing more money in digital marketing and related technology as they seek to benefit from the ever growing digital economy, according to research published today.
Q&A: Ben Edelman of Harvard on adware & affiliate commission fraud
It has been a while since the topic of adware and conjugated affiliate commission fraud has been brought up on digital marketing blogs. It may appear that the problem is gone. However, this is by no means so.
Today I am thrilled to bring you a Q&A with Ben Edelman, a Harvard Business School-based expert on affiliate commission fraud.
Groupon acquires social commerce company Mertado
Deals giant Groupon has acquired Mertado, a social shopping company that helps customers discover new products.
This is the second talent-based acquisition the company has made in the past month, as it announced the purchase of ‘stealth’ start-up Campfire Labs just a few weeks ago - which was yet to launch.
Making the affiliate Long Tail wag : part one
This is the first of two articles about how to engage and optimise the Long Tail of your affiliate programme.
Whilst the term has its origins in statistical sciences as early as 1946, it was popularised 60 years later with the publication of Chris Anderson’s book of the same name.
So how does this apply to affiliate marketing?
Monkeybars wants to reward fans for buying content online
Music is arguably one of the most popular things in the world (who doesn't listen to music), but it isn't exactly easy being a musician. That's particularly true for indie artists who don't have huge audiences and major record label backing.
The pains of the music industry, coupled with its overall sexiness as a business, have made the music space one of the most popular for startups.
Christmas 2011 stats: the affiliate perspective
As the dust settles from the frantic Christmas and New Year sales trading season I’m now able to provide a definitive account of how our advertisers’ affiliate campaigns performed throughout December.
Having previously looked at the impact of Cyber and Manic Monday on the affiliate channel we can trace December’s performance, compare it with 2010’s and also split out mobile data to see how it compared with traditional desktop transactions.
Stats from Hitwise indicated that Boxing Day was the biggest online shopping day in terms of traffic so it is also possible to see if that was reflected across the affiliate channel.
Affiliate marketing: mining the long tail
It's important for advertisers to think about the long tail within their affiliate marketing strategy, and possibly even more so in 2012 as publisher models have changed dramatically.
What was once considered an industry of people 'setting up shop' on their kitchen table is now a multi-million pound market as we have seen the growth of affiliate corporations which are set to continue to dominate the market.
While is big money to be made by affiliates due to the rise of voucher code sites and cash back sites as well as the more traditional content-led sites, there is still an abundance of smaller affiliates with a niche audience that brands can tap into.
Here are some tips on making the most of these long tail sites...
Q&A: John Watton of Expedia on innovation
John Watton leads the global marketing team for Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN), which provides private label solutions to the travel industry.
He is also a member of the judging panel for Econsultancy's Innovation Awards, choosing from this shortlist.
I've been asking John about encouraging innovation within companies, and what he will be looking for from awards entries.
House of Fraser improves campaign measurement with TagMan
High street retailer House of Fraser has starting working with real-time attribution and tag management company TagMan to help it plan, implement and track online campaigns.
The company, which operates 63 stores as well as Houseoffraser.co.uk, says it plans to use TagMan's system to improve its marketing effectiveness.


